WebTV

Let’s break it down. 1. Exploding Commercial TV? House of Cards and Netflix have not exploded the restrictions of commercial TV (show length, plot resolution) that endured for decades. The Sopranos and HBO did that. Pre-Sopranos, a show’s hero leaving his daughter’s college interview – to murder a long-lost colleague – was unthinkable. In retrospect, it kicked Continue Reading →

What’s going to happen to Hulu? Since founding chief executive officer, Jason Kilar, and chief technology officer, Tom Rich, announced in early January their plans to step down in the first quarter of this year, neither Hulu’s current leadership nor its owners (Comcast, News Corp and Disney) have discussed publicly their plans for the video-streaming Continue Reading →

We’re right in the middle of award season, where the best movies, albums and TV shows are honored. Netflix wanted in on the action, which is why it announced the Flixies. Rather than stick to boring categories like Best Picture or Best Director, Netflix had a little fun. Got a little one who likes to Continue Reading →

Google has updated the YouTube app for iOS with its ‘send to TV’ functionality. This enables the app to send video out  on an automatic connectionto TVs that support the open protocol. This update also allows you to send YouTube videos to Xbox and PS3 consoles, but they have to be manually paired. YouTube for Continue Reading →

While we knew it was coming, Roku has announced that the all-new Blockbuster on Demand service is now live on its video-streaming platform (US only), and will be available on the Roku Streaming Stick, Roku 2, Roku LT, and new Roku HD players (model 2500X). While Roku is particularly well-known in the US, with Netflix, Continue Reading →

YouTube is testing out a new pre-roll ad setup across the site that looks a lot like the current Hulu offerings. The new ad displays before the video starts, where a pre-roll ad would normally begin playing and offers the viewer to pick their poison. The ads offer the ability to view a longer ad Continue Reading →

Just two days after the 84th Academy Awards came to its conclusion in Los Angeles, Netflix has announced a brand new awards initiative of its own – the Flixies. As you’d expect, the Flixies will honour all the top movies and TV shows on the streaming service, with both Netflix members and non-members able to Continue Reading →

If you needed proof that YouTube has become a major part of pop culture, here it is: Billboard’s charts, which have become the gold standard for figuring out what today’s top songs are, just added YouTube streaming data into its metrics. YouTube views join song sales and radio airtime to help determine what songs top Continue Reading →

Anne Wood thinks children’s television has taken a turn for the worse. The co-creator of the popular show “Teletubbies” accused the BBC network of “ghettoising children’s programs” by canceling particular shows for young viewers, according to The Huffington Post. It isn’t just BBC who’s guilty of “dumbing down” children’s programming. Think of popular TV shows Continue Reading →

It’s been a little more than two weeks since Netflix released its long-awaited original series House of Cards to the public. The entire first season of the show, which stars Kevin Spacey and Robin Wright and was produced by David Fincher, was released at once, leading many subscribers to binge-watch over the first few weeks. Continue Reading →